Age: 26 (Dec.
25)
3rd
season in pro football & with Falcons
College: Auburn
Height: 6’0” Weight: 200
Prelude:
Part of a
group of running backs at Auburn that included future pro stars James Brooks
and Joe Cribbs, Andrews was chosen by the Falcons in the third round of the
1979 NFL draft. He had an outstanding rookie year, rushing for 1023 yards and
catching 39 passes for another 309. Andrews improved to 1308 rushing yards and
456 yards on 51 pass receptions in 1980 to earn selection to the Pro Bowl as
well as second-team All-NFC honors from UPI.
1981 Season Summary
Appeared and
started in all 16 games
[Bracketed
numbers indicate league rank in Top 20]
Rushing
Attempts – 289
[7]
Most
attempts, game – 25 (for 101 yds.) at Houston 11/29
Yards – 1301
[7]
Most yards,
game – 119 yards (on 21 carries) vs. LA Rams 10/11
Average gain
– 4.5 [12]
TDs – 10 [7,
tied with Earl Campbell, Ron Springs & Billy Jackson]
100-yard
rushing games – 3
Pass
Receiving
Receptions – 81
[4]
Most
receptions, game – 15 (for 124 yds.) vs. Pittsburgh 11/15
Yards – 735
Most yards,
game – 132 (on 8 catches) vs. St. Louis 10/18
Average gain
– 9.1
TDs – 2
100-yard
receiving games – 2
All-Purpose
yards – 2036 [2, 1st in NFC]
Scoring
TDs – 12 [9,
tied with Ron Springs]
Points – 72
Awards & Honors:
2nd
team All-NFL: AP
2nd
team All-NFC: UPI
Pro Bowl
Falcons went 7-9
to finish second in the NFC West while leading the conference in touchdowns
(52) and scoring (426 points).
Aftermath:
Andrews
continued to be one of the league’s most productive all-purpose backs, leading
the team in rushing (503 yards) and pass receptions (42) during the
strike-shortened 1982 season and achieving career highs in rushing (1567 yards)
and total yards (2176) in ’83. He was chosen to the Pro Bowl after each season
and was a first-team All-NFC choice of UPI in ’82 and a first-team All-NFL
selection by NEA and The Sporting News in 1983. However, a devastating knee
injury suffered during training camp in ‘84 cost him that year and the next. He
made a modest comeback in 1986, rushing for 214 yards and catching five passes
in his last season. Overall, Andrews rushed for 5986 yards on 1315 carries (4.6
avg.) and caught 277 passes for 2647 yards (9.6 avg.). He twice went over two
thousand total yards on his way to gaining 8633 yards from scrimmage and scored
a total of 41 touchdowns. He was named to four consecutive Pro Bowls and
received at least some first or second-team All-NFL honors after three seasons
in a fine career cut short by injury.
--
Highlighted Years features players who were consensus
first-team All-League* selections or league* or conference** leaders in the
following statistical categories:
Rushing:
Yards, TDs (min. 10)
Passing:
Yards, Completion Pct., Yards per Attempt, TDs, Rating
Receiving:
Catches, Yards, TDs (min. 10)
Scoring: TDs,
Points, Field Goals (min. 5)
All-Purpose:
Total Yards
Defense:
Interceptions, Sacks
Kickoff
Returns: Average
Punt Returns:
Average
Punting:
Average
*Leagues
include NFL (1920 to date), AFL (1926), AFL (1936-37), AAFC (1946-49), AFL
(1960-69), WFL (1974-75), USFL (1983-85)
**NFC/AFC
since 1970
